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All the 59 documents found under the Library tab in the menu. Details coming soon. Clippings by Numbered Order 01 ~ American Myths and Legends, Published 1968 The name Trickster refers to a number of old folktales, retold in different forms across the American South and Southwest. One version, from Louisiana, refers to Robert the Mason. According to the legend, Robert was a stonemason who lived a life of theft and deceit, but was given a second chance by Saint Peter at the gates to Heaven. After foolishly returning to his evil was back on earth, he was banished from Heaven but unable to die, and so he took up residence in a dark meadow, where he tricked passing travelers into trading what was precious to them for worthless trinkets and baubles. A variation on the tale of Robert the Mason says that he sleeps for seventeen years until the song of the cicadas awakens him; once awake he spends the summer making his wicked trades and collecting payment, until the autumn winds lull him back to sleep. An Appalachian version of the tale features a ne'er-do-well named Drunk Jeb or Wicked Jeb who makes a deal with the Devil, offering up his soul in exchange for payment of his debts. When the Devil comes to collect his due, Jeb tricks him by making him enter an outhouse and then carving a cross on the outhouse door, trapping him inside. In exchange for removing the cross, the Devil relinquishes his claim on Jeb's soul. However, because he lived too wicked a life to enter Heaven, Jeb finds he cannot die. In revenge for his earlier trickery, the Devil draws a circle of salt around the swamp where Jeb lies so he can never leave, and offers Jeb a deal, remain on earth as his Agent, collecting souls for him. The Devil tells Jeb that when he was acquired enough souls, he will have a place in Hell, but he does not tell Jeb how many souls he must collect. Jeb agrees, and the Devil composes the Song of the Cicadas, which will lure the desperate into Jeb's meadow so he can grant them boons for their souls. Historians suggest that the Devil in these tales does not solely refer to Satan from the Judeo-Christian tradition, but may also refer to the African trickster god, Legba. 02 ~ Scrawl of a Madman I So what do you know of the Dark Meadow? Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would have traded anything for it - your loved ones, your health, your very soul? Would it surprise you to know there are those who have made such trades? Oh,yes. Such Deals are His specialty. Would you like to know more about Him, about those who have made Deals with Him, and about the Payments he exacted? If so, look about you and you will find the scrolls that tell the story... but do have a care that it is a story you indeed want to hear. 03 ~ Letter from August Behr, Written February 27, 1909 Dear Mr. Montclair, I write to you in regard to the agreement we entered on February 19, 1909. You requested that I evaluate as an investment the parcel of land called "Bleak Meadow" by the local Indian tribes, some eighteen acres situated about a mile north of the Wright River. I have made such an evaluation and I find Bleak Meadow to be aptly named owing to its entire lack of potential for development, for reason I have enumerated in the attached assessment. I must strenuously advise you against the purchase of this land, barren and worthless as it is, especially given the total of your financial outlook. In our past dealings I have known you to be headstrong and determined, and so I lament any possibility that you will heed my warning, but as you have consigned me to some small portion of your self-describedly meager funds, I must by duty provide you with frank and direct counsel. I hope for you family's sake you do not go through with this transaction, but if you do, I am charitable enough of heart to pray that time and toil conspire to prove me wrong about Bleak Meadow. Yours, August Behr, Esquire 04 ~ Clipping from the Shaw County Sun, June 11, 1909 The Hardison Corporation has sent a party of petroleum engineers to confirm what local speculator Silas Montclair has called the "richest oil find in the Midwest." Montclair had stubbornly purchased what many thought was a worthless tract of land; however, he appears to have proved them wrong. While sinking a well, Montclair unearthed a rich vein of crude oil. Judge Alvin West, attorney for the Hardison Corporation, said today that surveys of Montclair's land would begin this week. After preliminary work is completed, Mr. West said, Hardison representatives would meet with Montclair to discuss the purchase of drilling rights to his land. Recent years have been difficult for Montclair, his wife and their young daughter. If Montclair's find is indeed more significant that the recent Canadian oil finds, Montclair will find himself among the wealthiest persons in the state of Illinois. 05 ~ Letter from Silas Montclair, Written December 2, 1914 Dearest Edna, It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write you this letter. You will have wondered what has become of me, and so it is my duty to tell you why I am no longer able to fulfill my duties to you as a husband, and to Claire as a father. For many years, you tolerated my often fruitless endeavors in the realm of business and speculation. I thought that, once I had found prosperity, I would be able to look after you and Claire in the manner you both most assuredly deserve, and we could be a happy family. And find prosperity I did, many times over, but in recent years, a shadow has been cast over me. I find I can take no satisfaction in my achievements, and I feel nothing of the love and adoration for you and Claire with which I once overflowed. I cannot explain what has brought me to this sorry pass, nor do I hold out any hope for remedy, and so I feel it is best to end our association entirely. I would prefer to be able to tell you that you will be well-provided for, but I have liquidated all of my holdings in furtherance of a quest about which I cannot speak, lest it bring danger to your door and put our daughter in the way of harm. I will attempt to send you a small stipend as I can, but I will be in places far away and unmapped, so I do not expect this will happen as frequently as decency would require. I can only imagine how you must despise me, for my actions are anything but those of an honorable man. I regret the ill feeling this must cause between us and wish I could explain further, but it causes me nothing but pain to write to you at all, and so this will be our last communication. Please find a way to forgive me so that hatred does not burn in our daughter's breast as it burns in mine, for him who has taken the Light from my Heart. Yours always, Silas Montclair 06 ~ Notable Figures From Shaw County History, Published 1942 a steamship to the Orient. And so Montclair spent the remainder of his years scouring the world for strange and arcane weapons, whose specific appeal was known only to him and which he took to his grave. Although there are many records of Montclair's purchases of these arms of antiquity, when he died in his meager hut on the land drained of oil by the Hardison Corporation, no trace of these weapons was found, and they remain lost to this day. Though Montclair had suggested to his wife that he would send at least some amount of money to support his family, he never send anything. Edna Montclair survived on the charitable contribution of neighbors and her community until she died of dysentery at the age of 36. Their daughter Claire, at the age of seventeen, was spared being send to a workhouse when she met a man of small but adequate means named Edward price. They were soon married, and Claire Price helped support their small household by cleaning houses - an ignominious fate for a girl who should have been heir to a vast fortune. Another notable figure in Shaw County history, and one with a less blemished legacy, is Tate Davis, who established 07 ~ Scrawl of a Madman II The Greedy Man thought he found the land, but the land found him, oh yes it did. The Dark Meadow whispers to you in the day and in the night, although you do not know what you hear. The Greedy Man made a Deal with Him, and He gave the Greedy Man everything he'd wished for. But He never comes out and tells you what the Payment will be for your wish. He doesn't have to say it directly. He tells you just enough to make the Deal, like all good traders do. 08 ~ Scrawl of a Madman III The Greedy Man got his gold and his wealth and his fine home, but when the time was meet, He took His payment; He took the Light from the Greedy Man's heart. And so the Greedy Man could feel no joy, no love, no pleasure. All that was left was the Dark - sadness, anger, fear and pain. The real reason He never tells you what the Payment will be is that He never knows Himself until it's time to pay. The Payment could be a part of you, or the whole. The Payment could be another that you love, or many. I wonder, if any knew the Payment beforehand, would they ever make a Deal? Ah, but of course they would! They'd think they could get out of paying, somehow. But you can't get out of paying, and He couldn't decline the Payment if He tried. When He makes a deal, He agrees to accept the Payment, no matter what it is. You should remember that, it's important! 09 ~ Scrawl of a Madman IV And so the Greedy Man, filling his heart with hate because that was all it was good for anymore, vowed to have his vengeance on the Trickster. But he might as well have sworn an oath to kill the ground for making his feet blister, or to make an example of the moon for bringing forth the howlings of wolves. Still, the Greedy Man persisted, and what he found was interesting indeed. He discovered the legend of the Sun Weapons: great arms of yore, forged all over the world and enchanted with the power of the Sun. Since He must remain in shadow at all times, was it possible that the weapons could hurt or kill Him? The Greedy Man vowed to find out. He travelled to the furthest corners of the earth, spending every last dime of his dwindling fortune until he had bought up every Sun Weapon he could find. 10 ~ Scrawl of a Madman V Bringing the Sun Weapons back to the Dark Meadow, the Greedy Man dug a cellar for them, and built a hut upon it, there to wait. But He never showed His face, not even in the blackest night. Why would He? The Greedy Man coveted nothing, would make no more deals and had nothing left He wanted anyway. And so the Greedy Man sat and waited, a crossbow in his lap and a sword at his side, for a foe that never came. He waited, still and silent, until he turned to ash in the grubby hut he had built. And the hut was torn down and buried, its cellar still a secret that the Greedy Man had taken into the wind that blew him away. And the Sun Weapons were seen no more. Or were they? Perhaps you've run across them. You never know what treasure you will find if you are keen of eye! 11 ~ Private Journal of the Architect James Hyde Stout, Entry for March 3, 1926 I have seen the sick and the dying, the mad and the lost, the unrepairable and the wretched broken, and I believe with all my heart that architecture can become a foundation for a new kind of healing. A hospital is not a place for doctors and nurses to do their jobs; it is the womb to which we return the infirm, to be born anew as whole creatures. The successful practice of medicine requires, above all, a willing and devoted patient, but today's fearsome, clinical hospital inspires only sorrow and despair, and a deep desire to flee the premises in spite of dire consequences of denying treatment altogether. The hospital of today strives primarily to divorce patients from their humanity, turning them into machines of flesh and bone to be prodded, poked, injected, sliced, stitched, boiled, peeled and bound. The hubris of the detached doctor is killing patients in numbers too great and conditions too terrible for a civilized soul to bear. I know in my heart that I can change this. My hospital will be a place of beauty and respite, of sanctuary and quiet reflection. It will be a temple to the sun, whose healing light will cleanse both body and soul. It will be a place that commands, not with intimidation but with moral certainty, that patients give themselves over to care, as we daily give ourselves over to our fate, or to God. This is the threshold that a patient must cross in order to walk the path of healing. But the philistines and plebiscites who call themselves trustees would have that patient's blood on their hands, and a thousand of his fellows, before they would allow a hospital to be built that advances the cause of medicine rather than maintain the deathly status quo. To a man, they are willfully ignorant of the power of structures that the great builders have shown, time and time again, can inspire entire nations towards a brighter future. Sometimes I believe that my true vocation is the placation of the small-minded, with architecture being a mere avocation reserved for the scant few hours remaining at the end of my day. But I will persevere. I will build a hospital that will heal the world. It will be my legacy. 12 ~ Clipping form the Kenoga Park Sentinel, March 30, 1926 The Shaw County board of trustees has approved architect James Hyde Stout's controversial proposal for a new county hospital, to be built upon the land that once belonged to oil tycoon Silas Montclair. In a late-night session with the architect, the board managed enough votes to approve the measure. Stout says he has contractors lined up and will break ground at an early date for the 150-bed public hospital of, in Stout's words, "thoroughly modern construction but deeply rooted in nature, harmony and tradition." The choice of Montclair's land as a location of the hospital was the source of some controversy. Stout's defenders have pointed out that It features good drainage, with an abundance of beautiful scenery, and includes ample ground to provide walking paths and driveways around the entire building, and no shortage of space in which to practice the art of the landscape gardener. The building will be easily accessible off of County Road 12. On the other hand, critics feel that the location's old name as translated from the tongue of local Indian tribes, "Bleak Meadow", is an apt description of the place. The land is somewhat loose and swampy, making the sinking of foundations difficult and future stability an issue, and the meadow was polluted by years of oil drilling. In the end, Stout won over those critics with his eloquent passion. The hospital, to be named after Montclair himself, had become Stout's dream in recent years, to a degree that some say it harmed his business and development of clientele, but his experience looking after an ill cousin while younger created in Stout a passion to use architecture to improve the level of care patients receive while hospitalized. Scrawls Of A Madman 02.Scrawl of a Madman 1 So what do you know of the Dark Meadow? Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would have traded anything for it - your loved ones,your health,your very soul? Would it suprise you to know there are those who have made such trades? Oh,yes. Such deals are His specialty. Would you like to know more about Him, about those who have made deals with him Him, and about the payments he exacted? If so, look about you and you will find the scrolls that tell the story... but do have a care that it is a story you indeed want to hear. 07.Scrawl of a Madman 2 The Greedy Man thought he found the land, but the land found him, oh yes it did, The Dark Meadow whispers to you in the day and in the night, although tou do not know what you hear. The Greedy Man made a Deal with Him, and He gave the Greedy Man everything he'd wished for. But He never comes out and tells you what the Payment will be for your wish. He doesn't have to say it directly. He tells you just enough to make the Deal, like all good traders do. 08.Scrawl of a Madman 3 The Greedy Man got his gold and his wealth and his fine home, but when the time was meet, He took His payment; He took the Light from the Greedy Man's heart,, And so the Greedy Man could feel no joy, no love, no pleasure. All that was left was the Dark - sadness, anger, fear and pain. The real reason He never tells you what the Payment will be is that He never knows Himself until it's time to pay. The Payment could be a part of you, or the whole. The Payment could be another that you love, or many. I wonder, if any knew the Payment beforehand, would they ever make a Deal? Ah, but of course they would! They'd think they could get out of paying, somehow. But you can't get out of paying, and He couldn't decline the Payment if He tried. When He makes a deal, He agree to accept the Oayment, no matter what it is. You should remember that, it's important. 09.Scrawl of a Madman 4 And so the Greedy man, filling his heart with hate because that was all it was good for anymore, vowed to have his vengeance on the Trickster. But he might as well have sworn an oath to kill the ground for making his feet blister, or to make an example of the moon for bringing forth the howling of wolves. Still, the Greedy Man persisted, and what he found was interesting indeed.He discovered the legend of the Sun Weapons: great arms of yore, forged all over the world and enchanted with the power of the Sun. Since he must remain in shadow at all times, was it possible that these weapons could hurt or kill him? The Greedy Man vowed to find out, He travelled to the furthest corners of the earth, spending every last dime of his dwindling fortune until he had bought up every Sun Weapon he could find. 10.Scrawl of a Madman 5 Bringing the Sun Weapons back to the Dark Meadow, the Greedy Man dug a cellar for them and built a hut upon it, there to wait. But he never showed his face, not even in the blackest night. Why would he? The Greedy Man coveted nothing, would make no more deals and had nothing left he wanted anyway. And so the Greedy Man waited, a crossbow in his lap and a sword at his side, for a foe that never came. He waited, still and silent, until he turned to ash in the grubby hut he had built. And the hut was torn down and buried, its cellar still a secret that the Greedy Man had taken into the wind that blew him away. And the Sun Weapons were seen no more. Or were they? Perhaps you've run across them. You never know what treasures you will find if you are keen of eye. 18.Scrawl of a Madman 6 Though he may leave the world of men for a time, he always returns, and he always finds someone else willing to make a deal. He smelled the Builder's pride and hunger for his name to be on the tongues of men, and the Dark Meadow sang its beckoning song. And the builder came, wanting to create a place that would tower over the Dark Meadow and sing a different song, one of his genius, for many years to come. How could he refuse to make a deal with such a man, walking around like a ripe fruit ready to be plucked? 19.Scrawl of a Madman 7 A building for a building. That was the Payment for the Builder's wish. He took the Builder's home, and all the souls in it, and the Builder was ruined. And so he found himself sitting in the Dark Meadow, as the Greedy Man had, waiting until he too turned to ash and was taken by the wind. But something strange happened. When he took the Builder's home, someone managed to slip away. The Angry Lad was of the Greedy Man's blood - and had developed a taste for that blood. He vowed he would taste it again. 26.Scrawl of a Madman 8 Somehow, his patience is always rewarded. The Angry Lad proved to be a dedicated troublemaker, but this was of no matter to the Lonely Girl, who bore him a child. Still, when the Angry Lad found his way to the Dark Meadow and the Lonely Girl followed, she was happy to make a deal - to make sure the Angry Lad never hurt her baby. 27.Scrawl of a Madman 9 And so he took the Angry Lad's mind. The Lonely Girl thought this would make him gentle, perhaps a good father, but that was not how he honored her wish. When the Angry Lad was set loose like a mad animal, the Lonely Girl had no choice but to send her baby away. The wish was fulfilled: the Angry Lad could never hurt the Abandoned Girl. And so the Angry Lad, like a wounded beast followed the scent of home, came to the Lonely Girl, and his anger and her sadness called up the wind, and they turned to ash and were taken. 28.Scrawl of a Madman 10 He had been paid;the Payment had been the Angry Lad's mind. A fine toy for him, perhaps, but it was meager earnings for one accustomed to much greater treasures. The Abandoned Girl was of the Greedy Man's blood too, and had slipped through his fingers. But he simply chuckled and resigned himself to wait. Blood runs downhill, and at the bottom of every hill lies the Dark Meadow - and he had all the time in the world to wait for it to flow back to him. 33.Scrawl of a Madman 11 As he knew she would, the Abandoned Girl found her way back to the Dark Meadow. And there was a Deal to be made; her Unborn Child had been poisoned, and he could make her well - surely there would be a handsome payment for that! But the Foolish Doctor intervened. Fearing for the horrors the Unborn Child faced, he took what he thought to be mercy upon her, and on her mother. No Deal could be made;even he could not undo what had been done. 34.Scrawl of a Madman 12 Fortunately for him, the Foolish Doctor had problems of his own, and was more than happy to make a Deal to get them sorted out. Once the Foolish Doctor had made his Deal, though he did not know what the Payment would be, He had a very good feeling that, when the Term had passed, He would have lots and lots of time to punish the Foolish Doctor for interfering with his plans. 42.Scrawl of a Madman 13 And what became of the Foolish Doctor? When he awoke from his nap. He found that the Doctor's time of clarity and wellness was at an end, and His Payment was the Doctor's Soul. And what becomes of a Soul that iis taken by the Dark Meadow? None can say for sure. Do they become ghouls who roam the halls,lashing out in pain and fury at anyone they encounter,destined to br killed again and again but never die? Perhaps they become part of the Dark Meadow itself and its endless bounty of corruption and decay. Pray you never find out yourself! 43.Scrawl of a Madman 14 When he is patient, he makes a glacier seem like a raging river. And his patience always seems to bear fruit. Finally, after so many years, the Abandoned Girl had a son, and the Fearful Lad's illness had brought him right to the Dark Meadow, as he knew it would. The Fearful Lad thought only of his parents, their pain and fear, and it did not take much for him to break down the boy's resistance. In exchange for the security of wealth and comfort, with the added bonus of health to ease his parent's worries, the Fearful Lad traded away...what? Even he did not know, but sometimes the Payment has a smell all its own, and he could swear it smelled an awful lot like the blood of the Greedy Man. 51.Scrawl of a Madman 15 Seventeen years of happiness and comfort, did he give the Fearful Lad. And when it was up, the Dark Meadow called, this time singing a song of joy and love - of the Bright Girl. Yes, the Fearful Lad had a child of his own, and it was the Bright Girl's birth that brought the Fearful Lad back to the Dark Meadow, where he lay in wait to take Payment in the form of the Lad's soul. But in his cleverness he saw a way to double his profit. Seventeen more years did the Fearful Lad receive, in exchange for the Bright Girl. He reveived a soul now, and in seventeen years he would claim the Fearful Lad as well. But though this girl was of the blood of the Greedy Man, there was something different about her. Something he had not counted on. Something pure and innocent, that befouled the Dark Meadow with light. This was not the kind of toy he could play with, any more than a child could play catch with an uprooted cactus. And as you know, when he makkes a Deal, He must take Payment...no matter what it is. 52.Scrawl of a Madman 16 Oh, dear. Would you like to know how the story ends? So would I - I'd know what to write! What do you think will happen to the Fearful Lad when his seventeen years are up and he is called to the Dark Meadow, so the maker of deals can collect his due? And what do you think became of the Bright Girl? Alas, this story's end has yet to come. Perhaps it will be written by you? Just know this: on a warm summer's night, when the cicadas sing to you, beware, for they may be calling you to the Dark Meadow. And if you are greedy, or prideful, or foolish, or scared, you may find yourself shaking his hand without even remembering what it is you asked for... and without knowing what it is you will be made to give him in return. Newspaper Cuttings COMING SOON Diary Enteries COMING SOON Notes From A Stranger =53. Note From A Stranger= THIS PLACE HAS RULES =54. Note From A Stranger= HE CANNOT BE KILLED HE CANNOT KILL YOU =55. Note From A Stranger= HE CANNOT KILL HER HE CANNOT MAKE HER LEAVE =56. Note From A Stranger= HE NEEDS SOMETHING FROM YOU HE WILL DO WHATEVER HE CAN TO MAKE YOU GIVE IT TO HIM =57. Note From A Stranger= THERE IS A WAY TO BREAK ANY DEAL HE WILL DO WHATEVER HE CAN TO PREVENT YOU FROM DISCOVERING HOW =58. Note From A Stranger= HE CAN MAKE YOU FORGET HE HAS MADE YOU FORGET HE WILL MAKE YOU FORGET =59. Note From A Stranger= SHE IS DANGEROUS, BUT ONLY TO HIM AND YOU ARE THE KEY